Biography
Family Background and Early Life
Chaghan Temür came from an aristocratic Naiman family whose ancestral home was Beiting, north of present-day Jimsar in Xinjiang, corresponding to Beshbalik under the Yuan. His great-grandfather Kuokuotai entered the Central Plains with the Mongol armies, after which the family settled for generations at Shenqiu in Yingzhou, present-day Linquan, Anhui. His grandfather Naimantai and his father Aluwen both lived in Yingzhou, so the family became identified with Shenqiu. Chaghan Temür studied the Confucian classics from childhood and was deeply influenced by Chinese culture. He sat for the imperial examinations but did not pass, though he became well known locally. The New History of Yuan records that he “was devoted to learning in youth, sat for the jinshi examination, and acquired a reputation in his time. He stood seven chi tall, had long brows covering his eyes, and three hairs on his left cheek that stood upright when he was angry; he was filled with ambition to achieve great things in the age.” He adopted the Chinese name Li Chaghan, reflecting the depth of his acculturation.
Raising Troops and Rising to Prominence
In the fifth month of 1351, the eleventh year of the Zhizheng era, Liu Futong and others launched the Red Turban uprising in Yingzhou. They quickly occupied Yingzhou, Bozhou, Luoshan, Runing, and other places, and within months many prefectures in the Jiang-Huai region had fallen to Red Turban forces. Yuan armies sent to suppress them were repeatedly defeated. In 1352, the twelfth year of the Zhizheng era, the twenty-five-year-old Chaghan Temür organized a landlord militia of several hundred local men, calling them “righteous troops.” He joined forces with another local militia organized by Li Siqi, a clerk of Luoshan County, and used stratagems to defeat the Red Turbans at Luoshan. At a time when government forces had been unable to defeat the rebels, the recovery of a city by local militia drew strong praise from the Yuan court. Chaghan Temür was appointed Zhongshun Dafu and darughachi of Runing Prefecture. The court thereafter placed greater emphasis on local armed forces and established militia commands in Henan, Huainan, and other regions. With official support, Chaghan Temür's militia expanded rapidly to more than ten thousand men, forming an independent army based at Shenqiu. Repeated victories over Liu Futong's forces contributed to a temporary decline in northern Red Turban momentum.
Fighting in the Central Plains
In the second month of 1355, the fifteenth year of the Zhizheng era, Liu Futong and his associates enthroned Han Lin'er as emperor of a state called Song and adopted the Longfeng era name. The Red Turban movement again surged, and the prefectures and subprefectures of Deng, Xu, Song, and Luo south of Bianliang fell under rebel control. Chaghan Temür garrisoned Hulao to block the Red Turbans. In the eleventh month, Liu Futong's forces crossed north at Mengjin and captured Huaiqing. Chaghan Temür led troops against them, defeated them, and was promoted to Vice Minister of Justice in the Central Secretariat. He later routed a force said to number 300,000 Huai-xi Red Turbans at Zhongmou, greatly enhancing his military reputation. In 1356 he was promoted to Minister of War in the Central Secretariat. In the ninth month, Liu Futong sent Li Wu, Cui De, and others westward; they broke through Tong Pass and captured Shanzhou and Guozhou. Ordered to suppress them with Li Siqi, Chaghan Temür seized Xiaoling by a night attack and captured Lingbao. Li Wu and Cui De crossed the Yellow River and fled into Shanxi. Chaghan Temür pursued them relentlessly for several months and eventually drove back the western Red Turban army.
Pacification of Guanzhong and Shaanxi
At the beginning of 1357, the seventeenth year of the Zhizheng era, Li Wu and Cui De again attacked Wuguan, captured Shangzhou, and advanced as far as Bashang, threatening Fengyuan Circuit, seat of the Shaanxi Branch Secretariat at present-day Xi'an. The Yuan court urgently ordered Chaghan Temür, Li Siqi, and others to reinforce the region. The Red Turbans were again heavily defeated by Chaghan Temür and their remnants scattered. The court appointed him Zishan Dafu and Left Vice Chancellor of the Shaanxi Branch Secretariat. In the intercalary ninth month, Liu Futong sent additional commanders including Bai Buxin, Dadao Ao, and Li Xixi northward from Sichuan. They captured Qinzhou and Longzhou, occupied Gongchang, and attacked Fengxiang. Chaghan Temür first detached troops to enter and defend Fengxiang, deliberately inducing the Red Turbans to besiege the city. He then personally led armored cavalry two hundred li day and night to its relief. Attacked from both within and without, the Red Turban army collapsed, with bodies said to have lain across more than one hundred li. The western Red Turban army never recovered, and Guanzhong was brought under Yuan control.
Recapture of Bianliang
In the second month of 1358, the eighteenth year of the Zhizheng era, the Shandong Red Turban leader Mao Gui led a northern expedition that threatened the capital. The Yuan court urgently summoned troops from all regions and ordered Chaghan Temür to station forces at Zhuozhou. He left detachments to guard the passes and personally rushed elite cavalry into Hebei. At the same time, the central Red Turban forces commanded by Guan Xiansheng and Potou Pan crossed the Taihang Mountains, raided Jinning and Jining, and captured Yunzhong and Daizhou. Chaghan Temür ordered his generals Guanbao and Hulinchi to defend Shangdang, placed ambushes at the passes on the southern side of the Taihang Mountains, and personally stationed a major force at Wenxi and Jiangyang, driving the central Red Turban army out of Shanxi. The court promoted him to Right Vice Chancellor of the Shaanxi Branch Secretariat and Censor of the Shaanxi Branch Censorate, concurrently associate director of the Henan Branch Bureau of Military Affairs. He was ordered to defend Guanzhong, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei and was granted discretionary authority over military affairs outside the capital.
By 1359, the nineteenth year of the Zhizheng era, the various Red Turban campaigns of the Song regime had failed to achieve their intended objectives, and the movement was beginning to decline. In the fifth month, Chaghan Temür concentrated troops for an assault on Bianliang. He established his headquarters at Xinghuaying and directed units to build encircling fortifications around the city until it was completely sealed off. In the eighth month, with food and fodder nearly exhausted inside the city, Yuan troops broke through the defenses. Liu Futong and several hundred cavalry escorted Han Lin'er out through the eastern gate. Yuan forces captured the Song regime's “empress,” tens of thousands of rebel family members, and more than five thousand officials. After taking Bianliang, Chaghan Temür maintained strict discipline, and civilian life in the city was left largely undisturbed. The court promoted him to Senior Administrator of the Henan Branch Secretariat, concurrently director of the Henan Branch Bureau of Military Affairs and Censor-in-Chief of the Shaanxi Branch Censorate.
Campaigns in Shandong and Assassination
After pacifying Henan, Chaghan Temür distributed troops to defend Guanzhong and Shaanxi, Jingxiang, Heluo, and the Jiang-Huai region, while concentrating his strongest forces along the Taihang Mountains. He worked daily to repair carts and boats, maintain weapons and armor, cultivate fields and accumulate grain, train soldiers, and prepare a large campaign to recover Shandong. In 1361, the twenty-first year of the Zhizheng era, he attacked Red Turban forces in Shandong, captured Jinan, and laid siege to Yidu. In the eighth month, Zhu Yuanzhang, who controlled Yingtian, sent envoys to Bianliang seeking friendly relations. Chaghan Temür in turn sent envoys to solicit Zhu's submission, but Zhu detained them and gave no response. On the fifteenth day of the sixth month in the twenty-second year of Zhizheng (6 July 1362), the surrendered Red Turban commander Tian Feng invited Chaghan Temür to his camp to inspect the troops. Suspecting no treachery, Chaghan Temür went with only a small escort and was assassinated by another surrendered Red Turban commander, Wang Shicheng. Five months later, his adopted son Köke-Temür captured Yidu, seized and killed Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng, and offered their hearts in sacrifice to his adoptive father.